Agent skill
verification-before-merge
Use before merging PR - final gate ensuring all tests pass, review complete, CI green, and acceptance criteria verified
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/troykelly/codex-skills/tree/main/skills/verification-before-merge
SKILL.md
Verification Before Merge
Overview
Final verification before merging. All gates must pass.
Core principle: Never merge without complete verification.
This is a HARD GATE. Do not merge with any failure.
The Gates
All must be GREEN to merge:
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MERGE GATES │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [ ] CI Pipeline Green │
│ [ ] Local Integration Tests Pass (if services) │
│ [ ] All Tests Pass │
│ [ ] Code Review Approved │
│ [ ] Acceptance Criteria Verified │
│ [ ] No Unresolved Conversations │
│ [ ] Branch Up to Date │
│ [ ] No Merge Conflicts │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ALL GREEN → MERGE ALLOWED │
│ ANY RED → MERGE BLOCKED │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Gate Details
1. CI Pipeline Green
# Check all CI checks
gh pr checks [PR_NUMBER]
# Expected: All passing
✓ build passed
✓ lint passed
✓ test passed
✓ typecheck passed
✓ security passed
If not green: Use ci-monitoring to resolve.
1.5. Local Integration Tests Pass
CRITICAL: CI should validate, not discover. If CI found bugs, local testing was insufficient.
# Verify services are running (if project has docker-compose)
docker-compose ps
# Run integration tests against real services
pnpm test:integration
# Verify migrations work
pnpm migrate
If project has docker-compose services:
- Services MUST be running locally
- Integration tests MUST pass against real services
- Migrations MUST apply successfully
- NOT acceptable: "unit tests with mocks pass, I'll let CI verify the real services"
Local testing evidence must be posted to issue before PR creation.
Skill: local-service-testing
2. All Tests Pass
# Verify locally (CI should have done this, but verify)
pnpm test
# Check coverage
pnpm test --coverage
If failing: Fix tests before merge.
3. Code Review Approved
# Check review status
gh pr view [PR_NUMBER] --json reviews
# Expected: At least one approval, no changes requested
If not approved:
- Address feedback
- Re-request review
- Wait for approval
4. Acceptance Criteria Verified
Check the issue:
gh issue view [ISSUE_NUMBER] --json body
All acceptance criteria should be checked:
## Acceptance Criteria
- [x] User can log in
- [x] Invalid credentials show error
- [x] Session persists
- [x] Logout clears session
If not verified: Complete verification before merge.
5. No Unresolved Conversations
# Check for unresolved threads
gh pr view [PR_NUMBER] --json reviewThreads
All review comments should be:
- Resolved
- Or responded to with explanation
If unresolved: Address the feedback.
6. Branch Up to Date
# Check if branch is behind target
gh pr view [PR_NUMBER] --json mergeable,mergeStateStatus
# If behind, update
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
git push --force-with-lease
If not up to date: Rebase or merge target branch.
7. No Merge Conflicts
# Check for conflicts
gh pr view [PR_NUMBER] --json mergeable
If conflicts exist: Resolve before merge.
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
# Resolve conflicts
git add .
git rebase --continue
git push --force-with-lease
Pre-Merge Checklist
Run through this checklist before every merge:
## Pre-Merge Verification
### CI/Tests
- [ ] All CI checks passing
- [ ] Tests pass locally
- [ ] Coverage acceptable
### Review
- [ ] PR approved
- [ ] All conversations resolved
- [ ] Feedback addressed
### Verification
- [ ] All acceptance criteria verified
- [ ] Verification report posted to issue
- [ ] Issue ready to close
### Branch
- [ ] Up to date with target
- [ ] No merge conflicts
- [ ] Commits clean
### Documentation
- [ ] PR description complete
- [ ] Issue updated
- [ ] Relevant docs updated
Performing the Merge
Once all gates are green:
Using GitHub CLI
# Merge with squash (recommended for clean history)
gh pr merge [PR_NUMBER] --squash --delete-branch
# Or merge commit
gh pr merge [PR_NUMBER] --merge --delete-branch
# Or rebase
gh pr merge [PR_NUMBER] --rebase --delete-branch
Merge Strategy
| Strategy | When to Use |
|---|---|
| Squash | Most PRs - creates single clean commit |
| Merge | When commit history is important |
| Rebase | When you want linear history without merge commit |
Follow project conventions for merge strategy.
Post-Merge
After successful merge:
1. Verify Issue Closed
# Check issue status
gh issue view [ISSUE_NUMBER] --json state
# Should be: "CLOSED"
# If not closed automatically, close it
gh issue close [ISSUE_NUMBER] --comment "Closed by #[PR_NUMBER]"
2. Update Project Status
# Update GitHub Project fields
# Status → Done
# (Using project-status-sync)
3. Clean Up Local
# Switch to main
git checkout main
# Pull merged changes
git pull origin main
# Delete local branch
git branch -d feature/issue-123-description
# Prune remote tracking branches
git remote prune origin
4. Verify Deployment (if applicable)
If auto-deploy is configured:
- Check deployment status
- Verify feature works in deployed environment
- Monitor for errors
Merge Blocked Scenarios
Review Not Approved
Cannot merge: Review required
→ Request review
→ Address feedback
→ Get approval
Failing CI
Cannot merge: CI checks failing
→ Use ci-monitoring skill
→ Fix failures
→ Wait for green
Branch Behind
Cannot merge: Branch out of date
→ git fetch origin
→ git rebase origin/main
→ Resolve conflicts
→ git push --force-with-lease
Unresolved Conversations
Cannot merge: Unresolved review threads
→ Address each comment
→ Mark as resolved
→ Re-request review if needed
Never Merge When
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Tests failing | Fix tests first |
| CI red | Fix CI first |
| Review pending | Wait for review |
| Conflicts exist | Resolve conflicts |
| Acceptance criteria not met | Complete verification |
| Critical feedback unaddressed | Address feedback |
Checklist
Final verification before clicking merge:
- All CI checks green
- Local integration tests pass (if services available)
- Local testing artifact posted to issue (if services used)
- All tests passing
- PR approved
- All conversations resolved
- Acceptance criteria verified
- Branch up to date
- No conflicts
- PR documentation complete
- Ready to close issue
Integration
This skill is called by:
issue-driven-development- Step 13
This skill follows:
ci-monitoring- CI is greenpr-creation- PR exists
This skill completes:
- The development cycle for an issue
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